


Conflict

by FrozenSnares



Series: Benefits of Detention [14]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arguing, F/M, Fighting, More Than Usual, No Fluff, Sadface, Swearing, it made me sad, it was hard to write, this one is kinda sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2015-03-17
Packaged: 2018-03-18 07:29:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3561320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenSnares/pseuds/FrozenSnares
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rickon and Shireen have a fight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Conflict

The sun was beginning to set, and Shaggydog was whining about going outside. Rickon, however, was paying him no attention. Rickon’s entire attention was on the phone pressed up to his ear and his girlfriend chatting away on the other line. Rolling onto his stomach, he started flicking the edge of his pillow. He moved some of the papers around his bed, flipping through them and finding the work he still needed to finish.

“So all my classes are actually going well,” Shireen was saying. “I’ve passed all my tests so far.”

“That’s great,” Rickon said. “Have you made any other friends?”

“Alys and I have dinner together every other day,” Shireen said. “I’m getting to know her friends really well.”

Rickon snorted. “Yeah, but those are _her_ friends. Shouldn’t you have some of your own friends by now?”

Shireen let out a sigh. “I’m not good at making friends, Rickon,” she said. “You know that.”

“You’re perfectly fine at making friends,” Rickon protested.

“No, I’m not,” Shireen insisted. “No one wants to be friends with me. I’m not exactly pleasing to look at.”

“Really? Really? You’re telling _me_ that you’re not pleasing to look at?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Her voice was small. “Everyone just sees me as someone to pity.”

“Oh, I see,” Rickon said. A spark of anger was growing in his stomach. “ _Everyone_ always pities you. Maybe I should jump on the bandwagon.”

“You know what I meant, Rickon,” Shireen snapped back.

“I’m pretty sure you said that _everyone_ pities you and that _everyone_ thinks you look ugly,” Rickon retorted. “And since I’m a person, I must be part of _everyone_ and think the same things they do.”

“Rickon, you know I don’t think that.”

“Then why are you lumping me in with everyone else?” Rickon sat up. He punched his mattress. “When have I _ever_ done anything like that to you?”

“I was just trying to say that –”

“You were actually saying that everyone treats you that way,” Rickon said. “That must include me.”

“It doesn’t… why would I say that?”

“I don’t know, but you did.”

Shireen paused. “Rickon, I didn’t mean to…”

“Yeah, but you did.”

Rickon heard her sigh. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then why don’t you call me when you know what you mean.”

“Rickon, I –”

He hung up the phone. A few moments later, he swallowed hard and looked back at his phone. Yeah, maybe he shouldn’t have gotten riled up about a generalization, but she should know that he gets frustrated about things like that. Rickon checked his phone. He was half-hoping that she’d have called back by now. It had only been three minutes, but still. Shireen sounded like she knew what she meant to say. Surely, she’d be able to tell him that and call him back. After another two minutes, he checked his phone again.

Fine. It she wasn’t going to call him back, then he wasn’t going to be waiting around for it. He threw his phone out the window. Shaggydog jumped up, running to the window and wagging his tail excitedly. With a sigh, Rickon climbed off his bed and opened the door for Shaggydog. 

He dragged his feet back to his bed, landing on top of all the papers. What did it matter anyway? He needed to hit something. Actually, he should probably call Shireen back. If only he hadn’t thrown his phone out the window.

Rickon groaned, holding onto his pillow. He really needed to work on his temper again. Slowly, Rickon pulled himself up and fetched his laptop. He opened up his email and located an old contact.

-

Three days later, Rickon dragged himself into a coffee shop. Taking a seat near a window, he pulled out his phone. No new calls. No new messages. Why did he mess everything up? Rickon wanted to snap the phone in half. He let out a sigh and slid the phone across the table before burying his face into his arms.

He definitely needed to start thinking his actions through before he acted. That had always been a problem of his. And that’s what landed him in a coffee shop this morning.

Rickon felt something moving through his hair and he immediately sat up to tell someone to fuck the hell off. He was taken aback by the woman standing before him.

“You still all bite and no bark?” she asked, taking the seat across from him.

“I’m just fucking up everything right now,” Rickon mumbled, slumping back in his seat. “It’s good to see you again, Osha.”

“I was kinda hoping I wouldn’t have to see you again,” Osha said. “Should we discuss over drinks?”

Rickon nodded and ran his hands over his face. He needed to clear his head. Osha headed over to the counter, ruffling his hair as she went. A few nights ago, he had sent a jumbled, far too wordy email about how he fucked up to his counselor from Skagos. He hadn’t been expecting her to drive down just to talk about it, but she volunteered to come anyway.

When Osha sat across from him again, he let out a heavy sigh. “I’m guessing you didn’t tell me the whole story in your email,” Osha said, stirring her coffee. “If I remember correctly, there wasn’t any story… I think you just typed “I fucked up” fifty-seven times before asking for help. What happened?”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Rickon took a sip of his coffee, burning his tongue in the process. He leaned back across the table and put his head in his hand. “I fucked up.”

Osha snorted. “I gathered that,” she said. She tapped the table. “The whole story.”

Rickon groaned and started telling her everything. He started from the very beginning: moving to King’s Landing and starting high school, and then he moved on to getting detention and meeting Shireen. He went through every aspect of their relationship that he thought would be important. It was cathartic for him to tell her everything. He hadn’t spoken to Osha since he left Skagos and he had forgotten how good she was at listening to his problems. After all, she was the only counselor at Skagos who actually tried to help him.

Once he finished, he took a long drink from his lukewarm coffee. Spelling out everything so bluntly made him realize how much he missed Shireen and how easily he could have solved the problem. He didn’t have to snap at her. He knew that she still liked him. Rickon reached for his phone, but Osha pulled it away.

“And what do you think you’re doing?” she asked. She raised an eyebrow at him.

Rickon faltered. “I was going to text her…”

“Text her?” Osha repeated, laughing at him. “Not even going to call her?”

Rickon felt his face burn. “I could call her, too,” he mumbled.

Osha continued staring at him, tapping his phone on the table. She started swirling it in a wide arc. “What do you want to do?”

Breathing out a puff of air, Rickon looked around the coffee shop. “I want to go see her.”

“Then go,” Osha said, finishing off her drink. “You already ditched school, given what time it is.”

“I don’t exactly have a car.”

“There are other ways to travel, Rickon,” Osha said, standing up. She stretched out her arms and slid his phone back to him. “Without breaking laws, I might add.”

“I know,” he mumbled.

Osha mussed his hair again. “You know what you have to do?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Rickon stood next to her, grabbing the empty cups and tossing them into the trash. “I got it.”

“Good luck with your girl,” Osha said. “Let me know how it goes.”

\--

Half a day later, Rickon found himself exiting the train as it pulled into Winterfell Station. The sun was setting, and he zipped up his jacket. The change in weather was the biggest difference. King’s Landing was still relatively hot, but there was almost no warmth in Winterfell. Rickon suspected that it would start snowing soon. It was only early November, but Winterfell typically saw early snows.

Rickon kept moving his hands about; removing them from his pockets and putting them back in. He stopped himself from checking his phone every two minutes as he waited for a bus and spent the trip to Winterfell University bouncing his feet around. Rickon was a complete bundle of nerves, trying to figure out how he should approach Shireen. What if she didn’t want to see him? What if she didn’t want to talk to him? What if she broke up with him? 

Fumbling with his phone, Rickon quickly checked Shireen’s address and put his phone back into his pocket. Getting off at Winterfell University, Rickon prevented himself from running to her dorm and casually waited outside until he could follow a group of students in. Instead of taking the elevator, he walked the few flights of stairs up to her room. Leaning against the door, he let out a heavy breath before knocking.

Alys opened the door. She looked pissed. “You fucked up, Stark.”

Rickon groaned. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “Why do you think I’m here?”

Shaking her head, Alys turned back into the room. Rickon followed slowly, stepping cautiously into the room.

“She’s not here,” Alys called from her bed.

“What?” Rickon asked.

Alys shrugged. “She hasn’t been back in days. I thought she might have gone to visit you.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Throwing a glare at Rickon, Alys grabbed one of her books and settled on her bed. “She’s been going to her classes,” Alys mumbled. “I don’t know where she’s been the rest of the day, though.”

Rickon hit his head against the wall. “Did you call her?”

“Did you?” Alys shot back. “Because if you could just swallow your fucking pride and show your girlfriend some compassion, I don’t think you’d be in this shit.”

Rushing out of the room, Rickon slammed the door shut. It wasn’t Alys’s fault. She probably had to deal with Shireen right after their phone call. Rickon should probably apologize to her, too. With a groan, he went to the elevator and headed for the lobby. He wildly thought that he should have brought Shaggydog with him. Shaggydog could definitely find Shireen.

Where else could Shireen be? She didn’t know that many places in Winterfell, and she had access to even less…

_Oh._

Rickon ran off. It wasn’t terribly far from the university, but the run would definitely kill most of his energy.

Slowing to the entrance of the Stark home in Winterfell, Rickon dug through his pockets for his keys. He took the time to slow his breathing as he found the right key and unlocked the door. Entering slowly, Rickon’s hopes fell. There were no lights on, and everything looked just as dusty as it had been the last time he was here. Rickon walked inside anyway. Maybe he’d have to call her just to figure out where she was.

Rickon wandered to his bedroom as he dug through his pockets for his phone. He didn’t want Shireen to stay missing. He’d just apologize to Osha about it later. Rickon entered his bedroom slowly and he heard something crash on the other side of the door. Fleetingly, he thought of burglars before he remembered why he was here. Shireen.

Stepping into the room, Rickon cautiously looked around. Shireen was sitting on his bed with her arms wrapped around her knees. The blanket was sloppily thrown over her. She looked close to tears and Rickon felt his heart break.

“Rickon?” she mumbled.

Rickon hurried to her side, sliding his arms around her and climbing into the bed next to her. Shireen slumped against him before slowly moving her arms around him as well. Breathing out a sigh, Rickon moved her into his lap before craning his neck to properly see her face. Her mouth dropped open, and Rickon pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I should have listened better. I knew what you meant. I just didn’t think through it properly. I know how hard things are for you. I just… I’m sorry.”

Shireen wound a hand into his hair and stretched up to kiss him on the mouth. Rickon moved into her, bracing her back with his arms. She let out a small sound before she pulled away.

“I’m sorry I overreacted,” Rickon muttered. “I love you.”

A small smile appeared on Shireen’s face. “I love you, too,” she whispered. “I just thought that I made you mad, and you wouldn’t want to hear from me. I mean, I should have known that you would take it that way. I just… I don’t know…”

“No,” Rickon said firmly. “This isn’t your fault. It’s mine. I was being stupid, and there was no reason for me to react like I did. I… Gosh, it’s killing me, Shireen.”

Shireen blinked up at him and some of the wetness disappeared from her eyes. “We can share the blame,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder. “It’s took the both of us to mess that up.”

“No, I fucked up,” Rickon said. “You don’t have to forgive me, but you should know that I know what I did, and I’m working on it. I got back in contact with my counselor from Skagos, and she’s helping me work through it. You won’t have to deal with my… explosive behavior.”

Twisting her hands through his hair, Shireen let her hand fall slightly to cup his cheek. “I do enjoy your behavior on occasion,” she said. “Just not when it’s used against me.”

“I’ll work on that,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt you again.”

Shireen pulled him into another kiss. It was slow, steady, and without the flare that some of their kisses had. Rickon placed her flat against his bed and stretched out next to her. Automatically, Shireen curled into him and pressed a kiss to his neck.

“Just talk to me about it if it happens,” Shireen said. “And know that I love you more than anything.”

Rickon kissed her soundly on the lips, pulled her flat against his chest. “Deal,” he whispered, refusing to move away from her. He quickly moved to recapture her lips. To his pleasure, Shireen made no further protest. She simply sighed against his mouth and moved her hands under his shirt to press them against his stomach.

Instead of recoiling, Rickon rolled her on top of his body and tried to glare at her. She was grinning at him.

“You’re freezing,” he said.

“You’re warm,” Shireen replied, smiling down at him.

Rickon rolled them back over and kissed her again. “Then let me warm you up,” he said before deepening their kiss and reaching up to hold her face in both hands. As Shireen’s hands roamed across his back, he held her tightly and refused to let go. Rickon kissed her well into the night, only stopping when they were too tired to continue.

**Author's Note:**

> Seriously, don't make me make them fight. Unless it's silly things. I just want them to be happy.  
> But feel free to send forth more requests for this AU, or else things will be ending fairly soon.  
> And let me know what you think!


End file.
